I will not be a little Dictator at the Helm of the Bar Council-Barrister Sama Francis

 

Barrister Sama Francis: Bar Council President

Barrister Sama Francis, the newly elected President of the Cameroon Bar Association has said that he will make sure that advocates sworn into the Bar will regain credibility in order to contribute significantly towards nation building. In a Press Briefing yesterday, August 15, 2012 in Bamenda, Barrister Sama Francis told journalists that he will “not be a little dictator at the helm of the Bar Council” rather he will work with all the past Presidents of the Bar as well as the newly elected members of the Bar to bring back dignity, values and sincerity into the profession. Accordingly, he also reiterated that he will have the arduous task to put together torn apart patches due to conflict of interest as well as eradicate the inertia of the balkanization of the Bar Association for selfish interest.

The construction of a General Secretariat and carrying out innovative reforms according to Barrister Sama Francis will constitute his roadmap to restore lost glories and thus regaining dignity, discipline and credibility. Responding to a question whether two years is not too short for him to implement his roadmap, Barrister Sama Francis responded in affirmative that he would rely on his colleagues and the Press to succeed. He also extended hearted gratitude to the people of Bamenda for hosting over 800 advocates for four days and added that the Bamenda General Assembly opened a new page in the association.

On whether he will be able to recover the over 700 million FCFA owed the Bar by members, Sama Francis said he will make an appraisal of the situation to understand why some advocates have not been paying their dues yet added that he is optimistic that the money will be recovered with time because “hence the spirit of collective endeavours and belonging will be reinstated for the Bar to gain it credibility”.

Whether his political leniency to the SDF will not be a hindrance, Barrister Sama Francis said he will not use his position as Bar President to protect any political group but on the contrary, the Bar will make pronouncements whenever the need arises to denounce any political grouping that impeaches the law. To Barrister Sama Francis, the Bar under his administration will also make sure that pronouncements are made on issues of the law. Besides, announced that he will visit some colleagues who were arrested and locked up. “It is pathetic that we are talking about advocates who negotiated and signed documents to render services on an agreed amount” he observed. According to Barrister Sama, the time of playing the ostrich with the aspiration with the Bar is over and that history will tell that once a young professional of Baba village in Santa Sub Division of the North West Region, a Presbyterian Christian by faith served the Bar diligently for the betterment of all Cameroonians.






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